Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 19 June 2024

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Implementation of Irish Inshore Fisheries Sector Strategy 2019-2023: Discussion

5:30 pm

Photo of Pádraig Mac LochlainnPádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

There are a couple of representative bodies, such as the SFPA consultative committee and the Celtic Sea herring committee, that the inshore sector is not yet on. As the Minister knows, there are issues with the north-west herring committee. There is conflict there which hopefully can be resolved. We all want to minimise conflict within the fisheries sector and to try to get agreement. Points were raised earlier about quotas and there is no doubt but that the inshore sector needs to get a bigger share of the likes of mackerel and herring quotas. We want to do that in a way that is agreed and of course we want to unite the industry to try to secure more fish at European level, in terms of the Common Fisheries Policy. There are two objectives that I think need to be shared. The Minister might talk about his vision in respect of how we can include the inshore sector in all of those forums to give it its fair place at the table and to get fairness.